Team-BHP - Cutting the cord - Ditching Satellite TV

With 2 young kids (under 5 years), there is hardly any time to watch TV. I have an Airtel DTH connection at home. I sometimes watch live telecasts of Cricket matches and my daughter likes to watch her kids channels once in a while. So have not cut the cord as of now. But will surely give it a thought in the future with all kinds of streaming services available.

Cut the cord more than 3 years ago. Not by choice but since it was too costly to get cable here - specifically the sports channels I need. Have managed to stay away from cable - we get some decent free channels on an internal antenna, there is Netflix, Hulu and paid access to motogp.com. Ah also, Hotstar though you can make your guesses as to how I access it from here.

There is this free channel agreegator service - PlutoTV - gives some good channels that play old movies, heck even classic cartoons LOL

Voted other. Conditional.
I don't think my 80 something year old grandpa can use modern streaming services. It is too much of a learning curve for him.

That being said, we've moved from 2 connections to 1. The living room TV relies on Amazon Prime, Youtube premium or HotStar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clevermax (Post 4661114)

Has anyone stopped newspaper subscription as well?

How I miss the newspaper and tea every morning in the US. Reading in any device (other than the Kindle) is very distracting.

Voted Yes.
I disconnected Tata's DTH connection ~2 years ago as it was hardly used and for last 1+ year we are living without TV. Netflix/Amazon prime on laptop + Samsung display works as good as TV.
Cutting down screen time gave us lot of time for book reading and connecting with real people which is much relaxing than increasing B.P. by watching some unnecessary fight on so called news channels!

Wanted to cut the cord around a year back but didn't due to pressure from wife as likes the good old traditional method of surfing the channels and watching music, Zoom TV etc. I only watch 10-15 minutes of news, cricket whenever I've got the time and Taarak Mehta Ka Ultah Chasma (What a stress buster it is) on Sony SET. Hence, subscribed to a customized package in Tata Sky for around ~300/month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clevermax (Post 4661114)

Cut the cord (DTH) around 1.5 years ago - around 400 rupees saved per month.
There's only internet connection to my TV now. I am still able to watch all channels for free. Subscribed to Amazon prime as well.

Has anyone stopped newspaper subscription as well?

No Newspaper too for the last 6 years !:)

I disconnected Airtel DTH close to 2 years back. I hate the ads + censors imposed here.
Relying completely on Hotstar, Prime and Netflix. No major complaints for now.
Only wish the content was on par with US.

Another good news (if true):
https://www.livemint.com/industry/me...379185871.html

Cut the cord in 2011. Spent a fortune on broadband plans but I am very happy with the decision. I am calm and peaceful without the nonsense of so called news channels, ads and other things that constitute as "entertainment" and got my life back. No TV in living room since then.

After many year of Videocon D2H, I am finally cutting the cord this December when my year pack runs out. D2H service has become progressively bad, the content on TV is even worse and the advertisements are even more intrusive. I am not talking just about the advertisements in time breaks but also which popup right when the show or movie is On. :Frustrati

BTW, I have also stopped newspaper subscriptions last year :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4660717)

I am cutting the cord today.
Over the years, I have used my Tata Sky primarily for two forms of entertainment:

1. Movies.
2. Sports.

3. It's not about the cost.
4. The new complicated TV packages & blackouts during the monsoon season have only firmed up my decision.

What about you?

EXACTLY the same for me (Movies and Comedy serials in No. 1 for me) on all points above. I didn't bother renewing Tata Sky since almost Jun / July.

TV no longer provides news - only shouty voices.
Movies and Entertainment is there for the taking from streaming services.
But most of all it was the utterly hapless service from Tata Sky - they are costly (fine), their service is rubbish, when their boxes go kaput they replace with similarly rubbish refurbished boxes which don't work either. And any sort of interface even for renewal is a painful affair.

What I will miss is sports nevertheless because even if Hotstar streams it, the visual quality of live sports is not the same on your ipad. I have still not figured how to beam hotstar on to my TV. When I tried doing it for GOT it was blocked. That's a bit of a downer but honestly I would do anything to not have to deal with Tata Sky anymore.

If Jio comes with a credible alternative, I might replace it with a very limited sports package from Jio. But for now, the cord has already been CUT!

Its been a blissful 2 years since I cut the Cord.

The savings are enormous:
- Money: Rs 600 per month DTH charges are saved.
- Time: Everything I need to watch is available at the choice of my time, with ADs.

I prefer use the Fire Stick TV, even though I have all the needed APPs on my TV, due to it's swift performance and intuitive UI.

Handling a Tata Sky Interface feels outdated, boring and clunky now, in comparison to FireTV.

Voted NO. Satellite TV has relevance for older folks who are not savvy with Digital Media.

Primary source of Entertainment for spouse and myself..Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Primary source of news for me ---Economic Times and Google Newsfeed.

Primary source of Entertainment for parents and Kids:- Satellite TV. I prefer my kids watch cartoon network and such on the big screen for a limited time rather than be glued to the small mobile for a longer time. Also my parents are not very savvy when it comes to Digital entertainment. The cookie cutter variety of saas-Bahu stuff is still served well on satellite TV which happens to be a hit with my Mom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandhyab (Post 4660743)

I cut the cord like 5-6 years ago or maybe even more. I had 2 Tata Sky connections, 1 HD another non HD. Watching habits for both the connections were different however at that time there was a set amount which you can pay to get all the HD channels.

But Tata decided to be greedy, and changed policies that whatever amount you were paying for lump of HD channels you still continue to pay but your base package should have the non hd channel as well for me to continue watching in HD.

So since then no connection for me, and it has been my PC which used to serve the content to the TV but now its the plethora of streaming services.

Exactly the same for me. I used to buy the Mega HD Pack for 5500, and they raised the price every year. 4 years ago I started using a spare laptop with a wireless keyboard and mouse, and then when the Firestick came out, there was no looking back.

Now, there is no way I'd go back. I'm too used to content on demand and being ad-free.